1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to communicating with, remote monitoring, diagnosis and control of machines using multiple communication formats. The invention is further related to the ability to upgrade and change the communication format which is to be utilized. The invention is still further related to a control/diagnostic system which has the ability to communicate with different machines such as copiers, printers, facsimile machines and digital cameras using different communication protocols.
2. Discussion of the Background
The communication between a remote diagnostic station and a machine such as a business office device which includes copiers, printers, facsimile machines and combinations thereof is known and disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,412,779 issued to Motoyama and entitled xe2x80x9cMETHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING AND COMMUNICATING WITH BUSINESS OFFICE DEVICESxe2x80x9d, which is incorporated herein by reference. However, conventional diagnostic systems do not use varying communication protocols.
In order to have communication with, control of, or diagnostics of machines using different communication protocols, it is possible to have a dedicated control and monitoring system for each model. This would assure an ability to properly communicate using a different diagnostic computer for each type of machine. However, this could be expensive, an inefficient use of resources, and not allow or encourage a rapid development or improvement of communication protocols.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a method and system for communicating with machines which has the capability to use varying communication protocols. It is a further object of the invention to analyze a received communication in order to determine which communication protocol is being used.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a control/diagnostic system which contains a data base of different communication protocols which can be used to communicate with varying machines such as a facsimile machine, a copier, a printer, a digital copier/printer, a digital camera, or other type of machine.
These and other objects are accomplished by a novel method and system for communicating with machines using multiple communication formats. The control/diagnostic system includes a data base of different communication protocols and formats. The communication protocol is also stored in the machine which is to be monitored or diagnosed.
The control/diagnostic system initially receives a communication from the machine to be controlled or monitored. This initial communication is examined to determine if it begins with a protocol identifier. If the communication does begin with a protocol identifier, a protocol identifier data base is searched to determine if there is an entry corresponding to the protocol identifier. An option of the invention is to determine if a version number of the protocol identifier is stored in the data base.
If there is an entry in the protocol identifier data base corresponding to the protocol identifier contained within the initial communication, the corresponding record of the protocol identifier data base is read in order to determine the format of the header utilized by the communication. The header, also referred to as a device ID because it contains information of the device which transmitted the communication, is then parsed in accordance with the format of the header which is contained in the protocol identifier data base in order to determine various information included in the header such as the category of the device, the model ID, the serial number, the version of the protocol, and the location of the machine. Then an input format data base is searched for a record matching the device defined in the header. If a record is found which matches the information of the header of the communication, then the format information is read from the input format data base in order to be able to properly parse the formatted data which follows the protocol ID and device ID (header) of the transmission from the machine.
If it is determined that the communication from the remote device does not begin with a protocol identifier, a communication protocol data base is searched to determine if the received communication has a header which follows a predefined format. This checking can be done beginning with the format corresponding to the highest number of installed devices. The fields of the received communication which are checked for a match are defined to be critical fields, meaning it is critical for the fields to match in order for the received communication to be identified as following one of the predefined communication protocols.
The communications which begin without a protocol identifier are either in a fixed format, meaning a format which does not change, or a format which is to be identified utilizing a header identification. The method which is to be used is defined in the communication protocol data base.
If the header identification method is to be utilized, the device ID (header) of the received communication is read to obtain the format identification. Once this format identification is obtained, the corresponding data format is looked up in the appropriate location. Alternatively, if the method of identifying the protocol is a fixed format, the format or location information of the format to be used is looked up in the communication protocol data base. In a first embodiment, the format is stored directly in the communication protocol data base. As an alternative, the communication protocol data base stores a file name or location at which the format information can be found. As a further alternative, the format information can be stored in a data base containing the various fixed formats and this data base can be examined to determined the appropriate format.
One the communication protocol or format which is to be utilized has been determined, the incoming communication is parsed according to the format which has been determined. Further, outgoing communications from the diagnostic/control system are formatted to utilize the determined protocol or communication format.